Protecting Personal Injury Settlement Proceeds and Public Benefits Using Advanced Special Needs Planning Techniques
Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
- work Practice Area
Real Property - Transactions
- event Date
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
- schedule Time
1:00 PM E.T.
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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This CLE course will provide guidance to personal injury counsel for using advanced special needs settlement planning techniques to help protect their clients’ personal injury settlement proceeds and preserve their rights to public benefits including Medicare, Medicaid and SSI. The panel will discuss the benefits and risks of using these planning devices to ensure a consistent and predictable income stream. The panel will also review legal and ethical traps for unwary personal injury counsel when advising clients on special needs settlement planning issues.
Personal injury victims with catastrophic injuries have unique needs when it comes to settling their personal injury lawsuits. Determining how to distribute their settlement proceeds to ensure a consistent and predictable flow of income for medical and living expenses and protect their client’s public benefits is a critical consideration for personal injury counsel.
Counsel must consider how victims’ future healthcare will be obtained and paid for, including an analysis of whether to keep Medicaid in place or take advantage of an ACA healthcare exchange plan. Counsel must also ensure that future Medicare eligibility is not jeopardized when determining how to distribute settlement proceeds.
Should the settlement be structured? Should a trust be utilized? If so, what type of trust needs to be created?
Listen as our authoritative panel discusses how a comprehensive special needs settlement plan can be used to help personal injury victims protect their personal injury settlement proceeds and preserve their rights to Medicare, Medicaid and SSI.
- Overview, benefits and risks
- Structured settlements
- Pooled trusts
- Special needs trusts
- Medicare set aside trusts
- Settlement management trusts
- Legal and ethical considerations
- Tax issues
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- How counsel can help personal injury victims preserve their rights to Medicare, Medicaid and SSI through pooled trusts
- How settlement planning devices can benefit victims in catastrophic personal injury settlements
- The legal and ethical risks of using these planning devices
